HUMBLE — Memorial’s JaVontae’ Hopkins racked up 217 yards on the ground as the Titans downed the Kingwood Park Panthers 50-27 at Turner Stadium on Friday.

Hopkins got the start for an injured Brandon Chaney and took advantage of it reaching the end zone three times, including a 95-yard score with 7:53 left in the second quarter. The Titans ground game as whole dominated as Memorial rushed for 375 yards on 46 carries and 577 total yards on offense.

After receiving the kickoff, the Titans (7-1, 4-1 in District 9-5A Division I) fumbled the ball on the fifth play of the drive. After a few plays got the Panthers into field goal range, Gage Guerra gave the Panthers (4-4, 3-2 in 9-5A-I) a 3-0 lead with 10:01 left in the first quarter.

 

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That would only begin the scoring, as Memorial answered back with a 54-yard Hopkins run to give the Titans an 8-3 lead after a two-point conversion.

On the following drive, the Titans defense show why they are tops in the district when JaQuaylen Cook intercepted a pass and gave Memorial the ball on the Panthers 26. Four plays later, Hopkins found the end zone for his second touchdown of the day from 8 yards out to give the Titans a 16-3 lead with 7:33 left in the first quarter.

Back-to-back scores by the Panthers gave them a 17-16 lead with 3:59 left in the first quarter.

However, the Memorial answered with a 74-yard pass from Kameron Ladia to Teajuwon Mack to give the Titans a 22-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.

 

The game changed when…

The Titans ran away from the Panthers in the second quarter, both literally and figuratively. On the Titans first drive of the second quarter, Ladia and Tavion Gipson connected on a 17-yard pass for touchdown, which was followed by Hopkins 95-yard score.

After a Panther field goal, Titan Tempo went into full effect as Memorial drove 62 yards on four plays that only ran 32 seconds off of the clock. Two of the four plays were for first downs and the drive was capped off with a 22-yard strike from Ladia to Mack, who finished the game with four catches for 113 yards and two scores. The Titans out scored the Panthers 20-3 in the second quarter to make the score 42-20 at halftime.

 

The game ball goes to…

Hopkins, who played many snaps on both sides of the ball tonight and recorded multiple breaks up in coverage on defense. The starting corner had an interception negated after the referee called pass interference on the play. Hopkins did the majority of his damage on offense in the first half racking up 209 yards on 12 carries and all three of his touchdowns in the first half to help the Titans stretch their lead and put the game out of reach.

 

Next up

The Titans will host Houston Wisdom at Memorial Stadium. Kingwood Park will host Houston Austin at Turner Stadium. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.

 

Titans 50 Panthers 27

Memorial 22 20 0 8 — 50

Kingwood Park 17 3 7 0 — 27

 

First quarter

KP — Gage Guerra 44 field goal, 10:01

MEM — Javontae Hopkins 54 run (two-point conversion), 9:47

MEM — Hopkins 8 run (two-point conversion), 7:33

KP — Dalton Roger 1 run (Guerra kick), 5:29

KP — Sam Johansen 5 run (Guerra kick), 4:48

MEM — Mack 74 pass from Kameron Ladia (two-point fail), 3:44

 

Second quarter

MEM — Gipson 17 pass from Ladia (two-point fail), 10:37

MEM — Hopkins 95 run (2-point fail), 7:53

KP — Gage Guerra 36 field goal, 3:59

MEM — Mack 22 pass from Ladia (two-point conversion), 3:27

 

Third quarter

KP — Canen Adrian 53 pass form Johansen (Guerra kick), 8:58

 

Fourth quarter

MEM — Cyrus Augusta 10 run (two-point conversion), 2:05

 

Memorial Kingwood Park

Rushes-yards 46-375 39-78

Passing yards 202 238

Total yards 577 316

Comp-Art-Int 13-23-0 12-31-2

Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0

Penalties-yards 12-115 8-70

 

Individual leaders

RUSHING — Memorial: Hopkins 19-217, Neal 8-45, Augusta 8-41, Washington 7-37, Alex Ned 1-36, Mack 1-2, Ladia 2-(-3).Kingwood Park: Johansen 16-53, Dalton Roger 17-16, Adrian 2-7, Rik Hrishka 2-2, Juan Garcia 2-0.

PASSING — Memorial: Ladia 13-23-0, 202. Kingwood Park: Johansen 12-31-2, 238.

RECEIVING —Memorial: Mack 4-113, Ned 4-44, Tavion Gipson 4-44, Kenneth Washington 1-4.Kingwood Park: Cramer Branscum 8-122, Adrian 2-85, Tylan Johnson 1-30, Hrishka 1-1.